Matchweek 20 Results: Manchester City Takes The Lead; Blades Shock Manchester United; Liverpool Finds Its Form

Manchester City took its place at the top of table with a 5-0 destruction of overmatched West Brom.  City’s defense was again stifling with the Citizens having allowed only two goals over this current eleven game unbeaten run.  The final score was also reminiscent of the type of offensive fireworks which were the norm in seasons past for Pep Guardiola’s team. The Citizens received a brace from Ilkay Gundogan and goals from three other scorers in City’s first game after the injury to star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.  The Baggies have been outscored by an aggregate 18-4 margin in their past five games and have leaked 48 goals on the season, 13 more than any other league club. 

Manchester United relinquished its hold on the top spot by shockingly losing 2-1 to bottom dwelling Sheffield United.  The Blades, now three points back of West Brom, have won two of three matches as they try to lift themselves off the Premier League floor.  

Leicester stayed third in the table, earning a point in a 1-1 draw with Everton at Goodison Park.  

Fourth place Liverpool returned to form with a 3-1 victory over Spurs after the Reds had failed to score in their four previous matches.  Defensive mistakes doomed manager Jose Mourinho’s Spurs side who lost striker Harry Kane to injury in the match. Spurs hold the league’s sixth spot courtesy of better goal differential than Everton.  

Moving past Spurs into the fifth position in the table was West Ham, who recorded a fourth consecutive league win in a 3-2 win at Crystal Palace.  The final score was misleading as West Ham dominated and missed chances which would have led to a wider spread. An extra time goal by the Eagles’ Michy Batschuayi, his first of the season, narrowed the final margin.  

New Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel got his first touchline view of the task at hand as the Blues played to a scoreless draw with a toothless Wolves outfit whose winless streak has reached seven matches. Chelsea sits eight in the table, equal on points with Arsenal.  

The Gunners 3-1 win over Southampton was a fifth win in a current six match unbeaten run. The Saints, meanwhile, have won but once in their past seven matches. Scoring had been the Saint’s greatest concern prior to conceding five goals in their last two matches. Arsenal has scored three goals in each of its past two matches, both played without striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who is attending to a family illness. 

Burnley recorded a surprising 3-2 win over Aston Villa for a second consecutive league victory.  It was the first league game this season that Burnley has scored as many as three goals. Aston Villa suffered its third loss in its four matches played in 2021.  The Villans’ sole victory in that stretch was a win over hapless Newcastle.  

The Magpies, 2-1 losers to Leeds this week, have lost five matches in a row and seven of their last nine as manager Steve Bruce currently occupies the hottest seat in the league.  

Brighton squandered the chance to pull, at least temporarily, away from the relegation fray as the Seagulls shared points in a scoreless draw with Fulham.